Warmage
Some spell caster care for only one thing: war. They dream of steel and mighty blasts of devastating magic, the march of troops, and the unleashed destruction found on battlefields everywhere. Graduates of special arcane war colleges, those known as warmages are drilled only and utterly in the casting of spells most useful for laying down destruction, confusing an enemy, or screening an allied action. The utility spells of wizards and sorcerers have little importance to a warmage’s way of thinking. What are support casters for, after all? A warmage cares only for success on the battlefield, or, in some cases, in the series of smaller campaigns favoured by adventuring companies. Adventures Warmages sign up for stints with adventuring companies that require straightforward, military-style blasting magic. Warmages hone and develop their arts through action rather than study, so without prolonged use of their powers in combat they cannot reach the pinnacle of their profession. Good-aligned warmages are concerned with rebuffing the movements of warlike groups – who better to blast into smoking ruin than those who have it coming? Evil-aligned warmages feel no constraints on who might become the targets of their spells. They adventure to gain destructive power. Characteristics Warmages access their magic peculiarly, at least compared to the way wizards, sorcerers, and clerics do. A warmage selects his spells from a limited pool of knowledge that rarely changes. Early in their difficult training, warmages instil deep within themselves the knowledge of all the spells they will ever need. Warmages know fewer spells than wizards and even sorcerers, but the spells they do know are enhanced. Warmages do not need to study spell books, but they do need to prepare their spells each day by spending time to call up the knowledge from their unconscious minds. Warmages do not specialise in schools of magic the way wizards can. In their training, warmages also learn a few mundane, warlike skills. They develop proficiency with some weapons and armour, learning how to use such items without incurring a risk of arcane spell failure. Alignment Because all alignments must be prepared to fight for their causes, warmages might be found among virtually any army that uses spell casting as artillery on the battlefield. Religion: Warmages often favour deities of magic, war, destruction or – if they are attached to a signature element – a god of that element. Most just worship family or local deities. Background Warmages attend special arcane war colleges. Such colleges are not for the weak of spirit. The rigours of both body and mind bear little resemblance to the apprenticeship undergone by wizards, or the self-taught experimentation of sorcerers. Warmage colleges are more similar to boot camps sponsored by large states. Throughout their training, warmages are forced to wear ponderous garments (meant to familiarise their bodies with the limitations of movement in armour) while drilling constantly with spells, most of which are too high in level to be cast by the student. This vigorous drilling instils the spells in a warmage’s unconscious mind, so that as he grows in power later in life, those spells become available for his use without his needing a spell book. After their training, warmages share a deep feeling of camaraderie with their fellow students and continue to feel a slight affection for any well-run military body. Role The warmage’s spell selection is already determined. He is the ranged magical artillery upon which militaries rely, or the centre of a smaller adventuring company’s offensive power. An adventuring company with a warmage should strongly consider including a second spell caster to complement the warmage’s offensive focus with defensive and utility spells. Category:Class Category:Base Class Category:Warmage Category:Arcane Spell Casting